56 | OCTOBER 24 • 2019
Soul
of blessed memory
Congressman Elijah
Cummings Dies at 68
JOSEFIN DOLSTEN JTA
R
ep. Elijah Cummings,
a longtime Baltimore
congressman who
worked to build ties between
the African-American and
Jewish communities in
his district, died
Thursday, Oct. 17,
2019, in his home
city. He was 68.
A spokeswom-
an, Trudy Perkins,
said in a statement
that he died of
“complications
concerning long-
standing health challenges.
”
As the head of the House
Committee on Oversight
and Reform, Cummings
was a leading figure in
the impeachment inquiry
against President Donald
Trump. He used his role to
investigate the president, and
Trump at one point sued
Cummings over attempts
to obtain information on
Trump’
s business dealings.
The African American
lawmaker had represented
his district — the home for
more than 30,000 Jews — in
Congress since 1996. Many
of his Jewish constituents
had favorable views of him,
and he was known for work-
ing to bridge ties between
the African American and
Jewish communities.
Jewish leaders praised him
earlier this year after Trump
took to Twitter to deride
Cummings’
district as “a
disgusting, rat and rodent
infested mess.
” Many critics
of the president said the
comment had racist under-
tones.
The Jewish community
“has been able to count on
Rep. Cummings time and
again for assistance and
leadership,
” Howard Libit,
executive director of the
Baltimore Jewish Council,
told Haaretz following
Trump’
s comments.
Cummings
founded the Elijah
Cummings Youth
Leadership Program
in Israel, which is
now in its 20th year.
As part of the pro-
gram’
s prestigious
fellowship, African
American teens from his
district spend two years
taking leadership seminars
and learning about the local
Jewish community, includ-
ing by studying black-Jewish
relations and the Holocaust.
The program also includes
a nearly monthlong trip to
Israel, where the teens stay at
Yemin Orde, a youth village
near Haifa. They work with
Israeli teens from diverse
backgrounds, volunteer and
tour the country.
“I want to send a message
that we cannot as African
Americans progress without
coalitions, and our great-
est coalition partner has
been the Jewish people in
America,
” he recently told
WBAL-TV in an interview
about the 20th anniversary
of his program.
More than 200 people
have participated in the fel-
lowship and many said the
program was life-changing.
Among the alumni are CNN
anchor Victor Blackwell,
who said the experience
“recast me” in a tweet after
Cummings’
death was
announced.
LEONARD
FARBER, 101, of
West Bloomfield,
died Oct. 12, 2019.
He was born Aug.
18, 1918, to Sadie
Belle and Samuel Farber before
WWI ended. His family lived in
Windsor. His father died at 38
when Leonard was 7 years old
and he was raised by his mother
and sister Florence, whom he
adored.
The family got by until the
Great Depression caused his
mother’
s small hat store to fail.
When he was 15 and destitute,
they moved to Detroit to live with
relatives. Leonard worked at a CF
Smith Grocery, where he could
eat as much fruit as he wanted
while he was at work.
He learned the value of hard
work and frugality. He wanted to
quit school to work more but his
mother insisted he stay in school,
which served him well in life. He
was always good with numbers,
learned bookkeeping and studied
accounting.
When WWII began, he was
working as a bookkeeper. He
soon realized that he was going
to end up in the Army, so he pre-
pared to enlist. He was needed to
train his war-time replacement. It
was then when the most beautiful
girl walked into his office and his
life, Dolores.
On their first date, they walked
a mile to save a penny on the
streetcar. He was ordered to
report to the Army in California.
He told her that they were going
to get married and move to
California. He went to Officers
School, was commissioned a sec-
ond lieutenant and was shipped
to the Philippines.
Just before landing, the Army
decided it needed three attorneys
for different organizational tasks.
Of the 200 second lieutenants,
there were only two attorneys
so they turned to the man with
accounting, Leonard. He was
tasked with organizing the
new Department of Recovered
Personnel. He did this so well
that he received a Special
Commendation from the com-
manding general.
After the war, he returned
to Dolores in Detroit to start a
family. There he continued his
accounting studies and became
a CPA.
Lynne was the first child,
then came Stuart, Mark and
Terri. Leonard worked hard and
because of his skill was asked
to become president of a home
building company. In 1960, the
economy was headed into a seri-
ous recession but because of his
organizational and accounting
skills, Leonard kept the company
alive. In subsequent years, he
shepherded the company through
two more recessions, thus earn-
ing the respect of his employees
(many of whom stayed for 30
years), contractors, competitors
and even government officials.
Leonard started snow ski-
ing at 50. Everyone thought he
was nuts. It took him five years
to learn to get off a chair lift
without falling. Skiing became
such a joy to him that he and
Dolores bought a second home
in Snowmass, Colo. He loved to
have his children and grandchil-
dren come west in the winters
to ski. He and Dolores also had
a condominium in Boca Raton.
When asked when he would go
to Florida in the winter instead
of Colorado, he said “When I get
old.
” They sold the condomini-
um without ever seeing it. They
never felt old enough.
Leonard drove until he was 98.
His driver’
s license was reissued,
through the mail, until he would
have been 103.
Leonard lived for his family
and his community. He did
everything he could to improve
the lives of his family. He never
stopped dispensing advice on
how to improve their lives. “Let
me explain,
” or “There is some-
thing I want to cover with you”
were two of his favorite expres-
sions.
Leonard was always working
for his community. He was a
lifelong member of B’
nai B’
rith.
He received the David Ben-
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